Transcript
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Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not tire or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to the one who has no might, he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and grow weary, and the young shall fall exhausted. But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Let us worship God. Let us unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray. Eternal God, our heavenly Father, you love us with an
everlasting love. We thank you for the gift of life and for the gift of life together. We thank you for the richness and the depths and the perspective and the dimension of your love. We thank you for the blessings which you have given to life in the disclosure of yourself in Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. We thank you that long before we left our homes to come to this high place in search of you, that
you left your home and moved through the dark passages of eternity in search of us. Our worship and our praise to you is response to the grace which we have seen revealed. We praise your name for ties that bind us together, for the Spirit's gift of unity and the life of the Church, for the whole ecumenical community of faith and of hope and of love. We pray your blessing upon this institution this day, upon this high
moment of renewal and of prospect and of opportunity. Bless your son Thomas and your daughter Barbara as they enter into this new moment of ministry. We thank you for the prospect of their pastoral presidency and for the expectations which lie before us as an institution, as a Church, as a part of the family of faith, as a part of your people everywhere. So bind us together in the fellowship of Christ Jesus and make us to know
not only how much we need your grace, but equally to know your grace, which is able to answer all our needs. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and with the Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
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Our psalter reading for today is Psalm 111. Hear the word of God. Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He
has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and merciful. He provided food for those who fear him. He is ever mindful of his covenant. He has shown his people the power of his work, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The work of his hands are faithful and just. All his precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people.
He has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and terrible is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures forever. Amen. Holy Ghost, as it was to be, is now and ever shall be, wherever you may be. Amen. Let us listen for God's word to us from Isaiah. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights, I have put
my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged, till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God the Lord, who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I have taken you by the hand and kept you. I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out of the prisoners from
the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare before they spring forth. I tell them, I tell you of them.
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The New Testament lesson is from the
Gospel According to Mark, beginning to read at verse 35 of chapter 10. Let us hear the word of God. Now James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you? And they said to him, Grant that we may sit one at your right hand and one
at your left in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? And they said to him, We are able. Now Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink, you will drink. And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. But to sit at my
right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Now when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that those who are supposed to rule over the gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But
whoever would be great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the son of man also came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. And so we all will pray, I and I will pray, when the house is steady, may I be strong. And who am I to ever ask for faith in Christ the Lord, and who
am I to ever ask for faith in Christ the Lord? Give me the power to give my voice and will, and with your power to give my will to do. I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the
land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, I first did the land and all the regions, While alerting in January of 1982 that the position of president of the seminary would soon become vacant, the board of trustees appointed a special committee to search worldwide for a suitable successor and to bring a timely nomination to the board. During the months that followed, the
committee sought suggestions from the presidents and deans of other institutions, from members of the alumni association and the faculty, from church leaders in this country and abroad, and from many other individuals of acknowledged reputation in the theological community. Several candidates of unusual promise were interviewed, and in January 1983, the committee reached a unanimous decision to recommend the election of the Reverend Dr. Thomas William Gillespie, a pastor of Burlingame, California, and a graduate of this seminary in
the class of 1954. The full board of trustees meeting in regular session on January 15 received the committee's recommendation with enthusiasm and, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, unanimously elected Dr. Gillespie as the fifth president of the institution and as occupant of the president's chair in New Testament studies. Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in June of 1983, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., received from the board of trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary a request
that Dr. Thomas William Gillespie be confirmed as the fifth president of the institution and as professor of New Testament. This request, accompanied by the affirmative recommendation of the General Assembly's own standing committee on theological education, was approved on June 14, 1983, and the election of Dr. Gillespie was thereby confirmed, pursuant to the requirements set forth in the plan of the seminary. Since its establishment, the Presbyterian Church in this country has attached special significance to the position
of theological educator. Recognizing this office to be an appropriate and necessary manifestation of the ministry of the word and sacraments. It is suitable, therefore, that a person being inducted into the presidency of Princeton Theological Seminary and into the position on its faculty should respond to questions derived from those addressed to men and women who are undertaking the work of ministry in solemn reminder that obedience to Christ is the ultimate measure of all our work. At this
time, I shall ask that Dr. Gillespie present himself to give answers to the constitutional questions. Do you trust in Jesus Christ our Savior and acknowledge him Lord of all and head of the Church and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? I do. Do you accept the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be by the Holy Spirit the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church Universal and God's
word to you? I do. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our Church as authentic and reliable expositions of what scripture leads us to believe and do? And will you be instructed and led by those confessions? And will you exercise leadership among the people of God? I do and I will. Will you be governed by the polity of the Presbyterian Church USA and will you
abide by its discipline? Will you continue to be a friend among your colleagues in ministry working with them subject to the ordering of God's word and spirit? I will. Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world? I will. Do you promise anew to further the peace, unity, and purity of the Church? I do. Having accepted election to the presidency of this
seminary and to a professorship on its faculty, do you promise to discharge the duties that may be incumbent upon you in these respects endeavoring to advance the great design of the seminary as God shall give you strength? I do. Now, it is my pleasure to announce that Thomas William Gillespie is formally inaugurated as the fifth president of Princeton Theological Seminary and installed as professor of New Testament. In testimony of this fact, I now ask that President
Gillespie inscribe his name in the record book begun by the founders of this institution, adding his witness to that of others who here have served our common Lord. Dr. Watermolder. Let us pray. Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, God of the psalmists and the prophets, the disciples and the apostles, God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Lord over all, God of those who have gone before us through the
many centuries, God of all whose lives have molded this seminary, of Archibald Alexander and John McKay, of leaders in our time like James McCord, of scholars both living and dead, of students who have found your presence here, our God, our Lord, our guide. Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, we join with them in this sacred hour, exclaiming blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever
and ever. O Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. A thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past. Aware that you are Lord of the years, we pray your blessings upon us in this year, in this place, in this event, that this inauguration here today may become a means of grace to your people everywhere. Give us the strength of the prophets to
do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Give us the tenderness of the priests to minister to all who are weary and heavy-laden. Give us the compassion of the Christ who took the form of a servant and humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death on a cross. As this sacred day casts its shadow over the years to come, may your blessings be upon this seminary and your spirits surround its new president,
Thomas Gillespie. May your wisdom attend its faculty and commitment to Christ consume its students as they prepare for ministry. May your guidance direct its leaders and your peace be upon its friends as they seek to serve. But above all, O Lord, may the years ahead bring a new commitment to your kingdom and a new concern for your people, a new understanding of your grace and a new awareness of all in need, a new love of your
church and a new compassion for the struggling peoples of the earth, a new sense of the glory of ministry and a new humility in performing it, a new awareness of life in the late 20th century, and a new readiness to become the agents of your peace. O God, who has called us together into one holy body, the Church of Jesus Christ, we offer our prayers for your Church everywhere. May your spirit possess the newly formed Presbyterian
Church and may your blessings rest upon its seminaries, their presidents and leaders, their faculties and students. Bind us together in the larger church with its many names and in its many places. Unite us with the churches which nurtured us in centuries past and those which call us to the tasks of the century before us. Make us one in faith until your Church throughout the world radiates the power of your spirit, the strength of your love. And
the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. To the fifth president of Princeton Seminary and to thank him for the California weather which he has provided. I
want to congratulate the Board of Trustees on the selection of President Gillespie to guide the destiny of the seminary in the next chapter of its life. He stands in the classical reform tradition of the scholar-pastor as well as in the tradition of this institution. He has brought a rich background of churchmanship, not only from the parishes which he has served, but also through service to many of the agencies and committees of the Church. And I
know that all of this will stand him in good stead as he directs the affairs of this institution. It's difficult to give a charge to a successor. I could stand here and give him advice, but if he were smart and he is, he wouldn't listen. Or I could rehearse the past and you wouldn't listen. Let me therefore make three observations. First of all, it is the responsibility of a president to work to keep the seminary free
for the Church. Let me spell the word F-O-R, the seminary free for the Church. The seminary is to exercise a prophetic role in the life of the Church. It is a community that is disciplined by the Word of God. That means it must be free in order to hear the Word of God and to live by the Word of God. It is the responsibility of a seminary faculty to give theological direction to the Church.
At a time when ideology has tended to replace theology, it is the responsibility of a seminary to see that theology is reinstated to its queenly role in order that the Church may be given a direction in its life and in its mission. We usually say the Church exists for mission as the fire for burning, but without the theology of the Gospel there is nothing to fuel the fire and the flame becomes extinguished. A seminary must be
free for the Church in order to exercise in every generation this prophetic role. This is particularly true of Princeton's seminary at this point in the life of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., when once again the whole structure and profile of the Church will be examined, indeed is already being examined, with an eye to see where it is that we have misfired and gone wrong, and also with an eye to see how that mission can become far more
powerful in the closing years of this century. And for this seminary there is a much greater role in the whole Reformed world. The seminary has recaptured the meaning of what it is to be Reformed in the Catholic sense, so that it can be related to the entire Christian family, helping to shape its leadership, using its resources everywhere. A second responsibility is to regain standards that have lamentably slipped in the past two decades. I'm thinking now particularly
of standards within the world of academe. There has been the escalation of grades, the lowering of standards, even the gentleman C has passed away to a collapsed B, and it is time that leadership be given toward the restoration of academic standards, especially in professional schools like seminaries. It simply is not true that you don't have to know very much to be a minister. A minister ought to be a person who can hold her or his own
in any community and be able to give leadership. There are many problems. I will not try to enumerate them. Why don't you read in the current issue of the New Yorker the article by Calvin Trillin on the Harvard Law School? Looking at the situation there, at least through the eyes of Trillin, is like looking not into a distant mirror, but into a contemporary mirror of what academic life is like today. Strong leadership is needed to regain
standards and to resist the ever-present pressure to erode them by quotas or anything else. Thirdly, this is Presbyterian finally, 24 years ago my distinguished and beloved predecessor stood here and charged me in eloquent words speaking on the theme of piety. Let me close with a word about piety in the classical sense of pietas. Piety has to do with duty. First of all, duty to God, responsibility to our creator-redeemer, but also it has to do
with duty to all those around us in all of our human relationships. By the time you reach Virgil, pietas also meant justice and compassion. The pious person is the person who is responsible and dutiful, just and compassionate, the type of person that ought to exercise leadership, not out of a craving for domination, but because those qualities are present and are recognized as those of a leader. The felicitous phrase of J. Douglas Brown in his book, The
Human Nature of Organizations, is intuitive integrity. This is the quality that is needed for leadership. And this is the quality which the Board of Trustees found in President Gillespie in a large and full measure, that intuitive integrity that grows out of his dutifulness to God, out of his commitment to Jesus Christ, and out of his desire to serve. May God bless you, Tom, in all the years ahead.